Open At The Close
by Kaimu
Summary: Nobody ever knew about the secret gift Ianto once got and always kept with him, who thought said gift came from Jack. After the 456 and Ianto's death, the gift shows it's true E fix-it.


Title: Open At The Close  
Author: **saar_fantasy**  
Pairing: Jack/Ianto  
Rating: PG-13  
Warnings: Character death + resurrection  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters used in this fic. The words are mine. Completely fabricated for fun.  
Summary:Nobody ever knew about the secret gift Ianto once got and always kept with him, who thought said gift came from Jack. After the 456 and Ianto's death, the gift shows it's true fix-it.

Jack gasps as he jolts up, eyes and mouth wide open. Not for the first time he feels awful, but this time it's even worse.

Ianto's gone. Ianto's dead and he's alive. He shouldn't be like this. It should've been the other way 'round! It-

"Jack?"

Jack turns his head and looks at Gwen, who's staring down at Ianto, no, at the pocket in his vest which is...thumping? What the...

"Jack, what the hell is that?!"

In one swift moment, Jack is at Ianto's side, sticking his hand into the brestpocket of his vest to pick, whatever the thumping thing is, out of there.

Once he got it out, he and Gwen both stare at it.

"Is this-"

"A stopwatch."

"But I thought he broke it? Did you buy him a new one?" Jack shook his head. "Maybe he bought one himself then."

"He would have told me."

It might sound stupid to Gwen, Jack thought, but Ianto would have told him. Or at least in a teasing way, so they could get back to their 'things to do with a stopwatch-list' which they weren't even halfway through yet.

Turning the watch over in his hand, Jack sees something carved into the backside. Five words... He holds the watch closer to read them.

_"I open at the close."_

"I open at the close?" Gwen, who had been reading over his shoulder, repeats out loud. "What does that mean?"

Jack holds the watch up by his lips, pondering silently. His eyes widen when he realizes what it means.

He quickly puts the watch down on Ianto's chest, right on his heart, then pulls Gwen back and they both stare as the watch opens and a golden glow comes out, surrounding Ianto like a protective shield.

Gwen gasps and grabs onto Jack's arm when Ianto's head turns and opens his eyes, smiling when he sees his two friends by his side.

All Jack can do is stare into those eyes. They aren't the same...aren't Ianto's, but Jack knows them all too well.

"Doctor?"

"Hello, Jack." his eyes shift over to Gwen when he hears her take in a sharp breath. "Ah, you must be Gwen. Nice to meet you!"

"This isn't the time for introductions!" Jack exclaimed impatiently, almost angry. "What the hell are you doing here? Inside Ianto's body?!"

"Ah, yes," the Doctor sighs, smiling sadly."This was my little gift to your tea-boy. He doesn't even know the watch came from me. I knew what was coming and wanted to do something about it, so I put one of my ressurections into that stopwatch on my- on Ianto's- chest and let it be delivered to your precious Ianto Jones."

"What does this mean?" Gwen frowned, looking from a still smiling Doctor to a completely dumbstruck looking Jack.

"It means," the Doctor continued, his eyes still glued to Jack's, "That I will bring Ianto back."

Gwen gasps again and a sad, pained look appears on Jack's face.

"How many more have you got left?" he whispers, scared of the answer.

"Just one," he rolls his eyes when he sees Jack close his eyes in pain and anger. "Look, Jack," he waits until Jack opens his eyes and looks at him again. "Do you want Ianto back or not?"

"Yes," Jack finally answered, "More than anything."

"Then let me do this." The Doctor told him firmly. "Take this as an apology for calling you wrong and abandoning you. But, Jack..." the Doctor's eyes in Ianto'sface turned sad. "Remember that this is a one time thing. If Ianto dies again, he won't resurrect again. Take good care of him and try to avoid that for a long long time, because I can see how happy you are when you're with him."

A soft smile appeared on Jack's face, "I am. He always made -um- makes me happy."

The Doctor returned the smile, "Treasure that feeling and keep him safe. I'm not telling you to luck him up in a cage, but-"

"I know what you mean."

"Then it's time to bring him back. Goodbye, Jack, Miss Cooper. I do hope to see you one time in the flesh."

"Bye Doctor..."

The Doctor grinned at them, then turned his head back, facing the ceiling. The golden glow started to fade, no, it seemed to be absorbed into Ianto's body.

All Jack and Gwen could do was stare as the glow disappeared and nothing but Ianto's dead body remained.

~~~++~~

With a loud gasp for air, Ianto jolted up, completely bewildered. His eyes darted around until they rested onto the two tensed up forms of his two friends.

"Gwen?" he croaked, winced, and cleared his throat. "Jack?" he blinked. "What happened?"

Before he knew what was happening, Gwen let out a "Oh Ianto!" before lunging herself into his arms, sobbing loudly.

Ianto blinked and folded his arms around her in silent comfort, looking at Jack for some kind of explanation. When he saw tears streaming down his captain's face, he really became worried.

"Jack?"

Jack said nothing, just stared at him and the stopwatch that was dangling from his pocket. He raised one hand to lift it up and frowned.

"It doesn't work anymore."

Gwen pulled away, stared at the watch, then at Jack and knew the two men needed some time alone.

"I'm going to tell Rhys and Martha. They're gonna think I went mad! Well, maybe I am, a little bit." she giggled to herself, gave Ianto one last hug then jumped up and bounded out of the room with Ianto blinking after her. He turned back to Jack after a few seconds.

"What's up with her?" He suck in his breath at he intensity in the other man's gaze. "Jack? Wha-"

That was the second time Ianto had one of his friends in his arms, crying, but trying to stifle his sobs. Ianto began to panic.

"Jack," he whispered, "Jack, hey, what's wrong?" He spoke soothing words in Welsh into Jack's ear until the latter calmed down enough to pull away a little and look into his eyes.

"I almost lost you..."

"Lost me? Lost me how?"

"You died, Yan. Don't you remember?"

Ianto's eyes widened and he became quiet, lost in his thoughts. The more he thought, the more he remembered. The more he remembered, the more his grip on Jack tightened.

"I died..."

"Yes, you did."

"But, how?"

Jack looked into his eyes and smiled sadly, "The Doctor," he nodded towards the watch that was still in one of Ianto's hands. "He gave you that. Inside of it was one of his resurrections, or the power to resurrect at least."

Ianto blinked and stared at the watch, then back at Jack. "I thought this was a gift from you."

"That was probably his intention." Jack sighed and rested his forehead against Ianto's. "He saved you."

"I...I still don't understand." Ianto whispered, "How is this possible?"

Jack shrugged, "He's the Doc. Anything is possible when it comes to him."

"Why me, though?"

Jack leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against his lover's before answering.

"Because he knows I can't live without you."

Ianto smiled against Jack's lips and returned the chaste kiss before pulling back and looking around the room. The room was full of dead bodies, hidden under blankets, and Ianto shivered as the thought rose in his head that he could be...no, that he was one of them just a few minutes ago.

Jack noticed the tensing of Ianto's muscles and the distressed look on his face and kissed him again.

"It's ok, Yan. You're not dead. Not anymore."

"Guess I have to send a thank you gift packet to the TARDIS."

Jack chuckled, "Yeah. You do that. But first," Jack stood up and held out his hand, "Let's go home."

Ianto was more than grateful to take that hand and let himself be pulled up from the floor, while he helped by pushing himself up off the floor with his other hand.

"You don't have to tell me twice."

They walked quietly, still hand in hand, until Ianto broke the silence.

"Jack?"

"Hmm?"

"I, um," Ianto ducked his head, playing with Jack's fingers a little. "I couldn't live without you either."

Jack stopped walking, making Ianto stop as well, turned to his lover and cupped his cheek with his free hand, squeezing tightly with his other.

"You'll never have to."

They smiled, both of their heads leaning foreward and meeting in the middle, their lips colliding together in a passionate kiss.

After breaking away, they stared into each other's eyes, sending a message full of promises. Then they left, going home.

The magical stopwatch tucked safely inside the pocket of Ianto's vest. A reminder for life of what happened that day.

A silent thank you to the Doctor. A reminder for Jack to keep his lover safe.

A token of their love. Forever.


End file.
